Torres: Italy will be like a wounded animal on Thursday

The 29-year-old believes the Azzurri will be seeking revenge after they were humiliated 4-0 in the Euro 2012 final by Vicente del Bosque's men

Fernando Torres has warned his teammates that Italy will be looking to avenge recent defeats against Spain by beating la Roja in the semifinal of the Confederations Cup on Thursday.

Vicente del Bosque's men have triumphed over the Azzurri en route to winning their last two European Championships - the latter of which being a 4-0 victory in last summer's final.

And the 29-year-old believes their Italian counterparts will draw on their ill-fated memories of recent clashes to inspire them to make amends ahead of this week's meeting.

"The Spanish know what Italy has meant to Spain throughout the history of the game. They have knocked us out of World Cups and European Championships," he told a press conference. "Now we have the wins in 2008 and last year as a reference, we know what we have to do, but a team with great players like they have can be very dangerous.

"And if they have been hurt in the past, they can be even more dangerous. When they have to compete they will compete because they have done so all their lives."

The Chelsea striker, who is leading the race for the tournament's top scorer with five goals, went on to issue a rallying call to his teammates to set up a showpiece final with host nation Brazil.

He added: "Brazil-Spain is a final everybody wants, but both Brazil and Spain have to have respect for Uruguay and Italy, who have been world champions.

"They will be games in which you can have no margin for error."

The two will meet on Thursday with either Brazil or Uruguay awaiting the winner in the final to be played on Sunday.